thank you for taking time to read these short nature writing reflections. they were written by students in an environmental communication class at the university of georgia. students wrote these reflections alongside reading essays on the concept of biophilia. the late naturalist, edward o. wilson suggested that humans possess an innate urge to seek connections with nature and affiliate with other forms of life—biophilia.

these reflections are also informed an understanding of the role of experience (sensorial) and place based writing. place refers to the idea that ecological, cultural and mediated understandings of the environment are primarily experienced through a place—a sandbox, a favorite bench in a favorite park, a mountain, a beach. a focus on place allows for an emotional connection to issues of conservation that an issue or theme-based approach to environmental communication typically does not. the places these reflections engage with are varied, including those near students homes (a backyard, a porch, ridge, a river) or in far flung locations—utah, copenhagen, the okefenokee swamp, costa rica, china, and cloudland canyon.

-anandam kavoori, professor, grady college of journalism and mass communication